Leap of Faith
by Periodic
Summary: Life is a peculiar thing, something which Evelyn Daniels cannot make sense of. Right now, life is looking pretty dull and Evelyn, fed up with it's complications, decides to take a walk. One which will lead her far from home.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Assassin's Creed

Leap of Faith

_At the Heart of the Woods_

Evelyn Daniels stared out the dirty window of the cramped 304 Toronto bus on her ride home from Humber College. She leant against the cold window as much as possible to avoid rubbing elbows with the woman sitting beside her, who was as equally keen to avoid contact. Evelyn, while staring out the window, focused first on her pale reflection that was marred by the shadow of rain droplets on the stained glass surface. She studied the plump, round face that starred back at her; she concentrated on the mass of brown curls that were pulled back to reveal tired brown eyes. Evelyn angled her head slightly; trying on a coy smile, but quickly dropped it with a tired sigh and rubbed a hand over her face. She had already figured that she wasn't the prettiest thing on the face of the planet, but that didn't stop her from scrutinizing herself.

Evelyn clutched her book bag tighter and lurched into the woman beside her as the bus struck a pothole. Mumbling an embarrassed apology, the Eveyln readjusted herself in her seat and returned to staring out the window, figuring that she'd take stock of her life so far so as to pass the next hour that would be spent on the bus.

She was twenty-five years old and living at home with her mother and fifteen year old brother after her rent money had been spent on schoolbooks for the fourth college course she had entered. Evelyn was hoping to be a nurse; well, really she was still considering it, and after getting back the results on her last lab report she was fairly sure what conclusion she would reach. No occupation seemed to suit the young woman, nothing interested her, and so she dabbled in all different kinds of courses. There'd been the year of painting courses, when Evelyn had thought she had a touch of Van Gogh in her. Then she'd tried hair dressing, remembering how great her Barbie dolls had looked when she'd styled their hair – and she'd only been eight then! She quickly remembered that most of her Barbies were bald by the time she was through with them. After that was the psychology course that had interested her for a while until a roller coaster relationship with the young man who sat beside her in class made her swear never to return. So here she was, starting yet another career and hoping, no [Ipraying[/I, that it would work out. But the thing was that, although she understood the work, she was useless with the practical. She couldn't go near the cadavers, which attested to her poor lab mark. Any sight of blood and Evelyn could feel her stomach heave. She'd have dropped the class months before but she'd promised her mother that she'd see this one through to the end. Any degree was better than no degree at all.

The truth was that Evelyn was scared. Very scared in fact. This was not how she had envisioned her life turning out; at twenty five years old she'd thought she'd be traveling the world or settling down with a steady career, not living at home, drifting from one possibility to the next.

Evelyn got off the bus, tugging her jacket tighter around her and slinging her book bag over her shoulder as she hurried down the wet street towards her apartment block. She fumbled for the right key with numb fingers and managed to let herself in to the lobby. She climbed the steps to the second level floor and opened the door to the small, but cozy, two-bedroom apartment. The aromatic smells of cooked stir fry hit her nose first and the sounds of her brother playing his favorite Xbox 360 game, Assassin's Creed, hit second. A small smile touched her lips and she admitted to herself that it was nice to be home.

"Hello?" She called, chucking her bag on her bed quickly followed by her coat. "Anyone home?"

"In here." Her mother's voice drifted down the hall from the kitchen and Eveyln wandered in, giving her a quick hug. Joyce Daniels was a petite woman with a smiling face framed by the same unruly brown curls that had been passed on to her daughter. "Your just in time. Tell Matt that dinners ready."

"Shall do," Evelyn replied, walking into the living room where her brother, Mathew Daniels, was entirely concentrated on Assassin's Creed. "Dinners ready little bro," She said, giving him a gentle whack on the head. Apparently it was enough to distract his concentration as Matt grunted and then cursed loudly.

"Great! Just great! I was so close to saving that citizen and now I have to start all over again!"

"Whoa! Sorrrreeeyyy. Just pause it and start over after dinner. Hey, don't you have homework to do anyways?"

"Pause it. Pfft. Took me ages to get as close as that," Matt grumbled, giving his sister a dark look. "And I finished my homework at school."

"Hmm," Was all Eveyln said.

Gathered around the dining room table, the family of three dug into their steaming dinner. Matt's eyes continually drifted towards the T.V. which could be seen quite easily from his seat while Eveyln and her mother chatted about school and work. Evelyn was busy recounting the events with the recent cadaver when Matt interrupted, "You know the graphics on Assassin's Creed are awesome. Some of the best I think. Altair's actions are really smooth, I mean I've found a few glitches, but compared to other games that I've played this one is definitely in my top five." Matt nodded as he shoveled rice into his mouth, chewing rather thoughtfully.

"So are you thinking about going into computers then?" Evelyn asked curiously, taking a small bite of her food.

"Yeah, maybe. I'd like to." Matt replied with a shrug.

"You know you need good grades to do it though right?" Evelyn said somewhat seriously. Matt looked up and frowned, answering shortly,

"Yeah. I know."

"I'm just saying is all. You're what, in grade ten right? So next year if you take business comp. and what's that other one-"

"Business comp. is a joke course," Matt interrupted and it was Evelyn's turn to frown,

"Yeah, but you still need it to get into school if you want to do computer graphics design or whatever."

"Look I don't want to talk about school right now okay?"

"Why? Did something happen?" A concerned look crossed Evelyn's features. She'd never been subjected to bullying during her high school years, but that was a different story for Matt. "Did someone-"

"No! Nothing happened! I just don't want to talk about school okay? God, you sound just like Dad." Matt snapped causing Evelyn to draw back, visibly hurt by her brothers words.

"I'm just trying to look out for you Matt, I want you to have a good future."

"What? So I don't end up like you?" He sneered as Evelyn clutched tighter at her knife and fork. She took a deep breath and replied in a hardly controlled voice,

"Where I am right now isn't so bad, but yeah, I don't want you to make some of the same mistakes that I have."

"Whatever, I'm gonna go play more Xbox." Matt said, getting up from the table and stomping over to the couch. Evelyn could hear the sounds of 'Assassin! Get him!' and 'Die infidel!' in the background, but she was concentrated solely on her dinner half empty dinner plate. Her mother reached over and took her hand, giving it a squeeze.

"It's not you Evie," She murmured, trying to catch her daughter's gaze. "He did have a bad day. Some kids at school. You know." Evelyn gave a weak smile in return and tried to shake off her gloom.

"I know," She whispered back. "I didn't mean-"

"I know you didn't, you always mean well. Don't worry sweet heart, he'll come apologize later." Evelyn nodded and swallowed, unable to stop the small feeling of bitterness towards her mother for not having intervened.

"Do you want help cleaning up or…" Evelyn asked

"No, no I'm fine." Her mother replied.

"Okay, I'm gonna go out for a walk then. Just get some fresh air."

"Sure Evie, it'll do your heart some good."

It was a kind of ritual they had, Evelyn always pretended like she'd help with the dishes, and her mother always waved the offer away. Evelyn went out for the much-needed walk, and her mother spent the much-needed time alone in the kitchen. For both women it was there time to think clearly without interruption, but both always felt a slight twinge of guilt at leaving the other alone, as if they knew that talking would help sort things out but didn't have the courage to say any words.

Evelyn twined a long scarf about her neck and buttoned up her coat. She was half way out the door before she turned back and grabbed her book bag. There was no real thought put into this action, only that she felt the need to have it with her. It traveled everywhere with her on the bus, at school, it had become a constant companion and she had come to fined the consistent light bump against her leg with every other step rather soothing.

Evelyn cut through footpaths and trudged down hills, waited at red lights, and burrowed her chin into her scarf when the wind picked up. Her mind was far off, lost in the confusing labyrinth of her past, when Evelyn walked into the forest. She didn't notice the change of scenery and was only distantly aware of the sudden lose of the sound of roaring traffic about her. She knew that there were many parks around where she lived so she wasn't worried at all. In the heart of the woods stood a royal oak, it's branches bare save for a few clinging leaves. Mystified, Evelyn reached out and touched the gnarled bark, tracing her fingers over the many ridges. She walked around it, looking up into it's great branches. There was a sense of timelessness surrounding the old oak, and Evelyn felt both comfortable and out of place in it's presence. A small smile worked its way across her lips and, after giving the tree a friendly pat - as though it were an old companion - she carried on her way. It wasn't until she started unwinding her scarf and unbuttoning and unzipping her coat that Evelyn began to pay attention to her surroundings. When her shoes kicked up sand she came to a halt; looking down, her jaw dropped. Evelyn lifted her eyes from the ground to survey what appeared to be a castle in a desert like setting. She felt sweat begin to prickle along her forehead and shield her eyes from the glare of the hot sun. Evelyn turned quickly to see what she had thought to be a forest of evergreens, was actually only a small grove of palm trees, and looking between the bare trunks she could see more sand stretching on for miles.

Feeling incredibly short of breath and panicky, Evelyn started to walk towards the castle, figuring that it was some sort of museum she had stumbled upon and some official inside could direct her back home. She walked cautiously towards what she thought were actors dressed up as soldiers – their hardened faces were enough to convince her that they were either paid very well to play the part, or were very serious about their job.

"Excuse me?" She called, feeling extremely sheepish. "Could you tell me how to get to Williams Street from here? I'm a bit lost."

One of the guards looked at her suspiciously, and Evelyn couldn't help but notice that all of them were gripping the hilts of their swords. 'Toy swords,' she reminded herself.

"What do you want here stranger?" The one in the middle asked with a deep frown.

"Um…I-I want directions. Please. I'm lost see." She paused and flushed, "I've lived in Toronto all my life but I'm totally lost now." She said with an awkward laugh. "I'd really appreciate some help." She added. The guards looked at one another and another exclaimed suddenly,

"The wench is bedlam!" The other guards made similar noises of understand and were suddenly laughing and leering at her.

"Excuse me?" Evelyn said, feeling completely bemused and rather insulted.

"Right this way majesty," One of them said with a smirk, winking at the other guards. "I will show you to this 'Toronto'," He gave a lecherous laugh and grabbed onto her arm.

"Hey!" Evelyn attempted to pull back, feeling completely alarmed and wishing she'd stayed by the palm trees. "Let go of me!"

One of the guards said something in another language and the rest laughed. Another iron grip clamped around Evelyn's other arm and she was filled with sudden terror and understanding.

"No! NO! Wait! Please! I just want to go home!" She dug in her heels as they started to drag her towards the entrance of the castle. "I haven't done anything wrong! Please! Somebody help!" Oddly dressed people – 'actors' Evelyn firmly thought – walked past without even glancing up. She was suddenly being tugged from side to side, which caused her to loose her footing and be dragged forward several steps. Tears dripped down her round, flushed cheeks as panic and adrenaline filled her. She let loose an almighty scream and fought like a wild animal, scratching, biting, kicking, flailing with all of her strength. There was more laughter, more jokes in another language and then all of a sudden another scream though this time it was much deeper than Evelyn's. Blood spattered and mingled with the sand and the hands on Evelyn's arms were gone. Through her tears Evelyn watched as a white robed figure thrust a sword through one of the guards and the bloody metal glimmered in the hot sun. Evelyn screamed again and again, the dieing cries of her attackers echoing in her ears. She turned and started to run, adrenaline and terror urging her faster. Tears clouded her eyes and her heart thudded in her ears. She could hear the sound of thundering hoof beats getting closer and closer and Evelyn screamed again, throwing all her energy and strength in to her run. Her eyes were desperately set on the ground before her and terror filled her as a line of guards suddenly blocked her path, swords drawn. Evelyn skidded to a halt and turned running back the other way. She suddenly saw the white robed figure riding towards her, his hand outstretched towards her. Without thinking she grabbed it and was easily swung up onto the horse behind him. Without having to be told Evelyn clung on for dear life, burying her head against his back and closing her eyes. She tried to block out the sound of more screams as the figure threw something at the guards, but those cries continued to haunt her even as the two were galloping away from the noise.

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I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, I didn't intend it to be so long but there you go. I should let you know that writing this story isn't on the top list of priorities and I'm pretty busy so updating will be slow, however, I'll do the best that I can. I'd really appreciate if you reviewed, constructive criticism welcome, but mainly I hope you all enjoyed it and I look forward to writing the next chapter.

Sincerely,

Periodic :)


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Assassin's Creed

Alyssa Raven: Thanks!! I'm glad you like it so far! Thanks for the review:)

RunMoogles: Thanks!! I'm glad you think so! I'll try to keep the updates regular for ya :)

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Leap of Faith

_Bad Circumstances_

_'"Murder! Help! Guards, murder!" "I'm wounded! Help!" "Gods help us! MURDER! HELP, MURDER!"'_ The dieing screams of the guards who had attacked her still echoed in Evelyn's ears. The scene played over and over in her mind; her realization, her terror, their rough hands and then all of sudden a white figure; the sickening sound of metal meeting flesh and again blood splashed across her vision. Evelyn's stomach churned and rebelled. There was an insistent ringing in her ears, and dark tunnels started to form before her eyes.

The screams, it was the screams and the blood that was the worst. They were vile men, bad men, but they were killed so mercilessly. Did anyone deserve to die that way? And the blood, oh God the blood, it had made puddles in the sand.

"Stop!" Evelyn cried out suddenly, "STOP!" The horse jerked and slowed slightly, and Evelyn slithered to the ground. She started to run, stumbled, picked herself up and continued on. She made it to a cluster of large rocks and there threw up the stir-fry dinner she'd had at her home. Sweating and shaking, Evelyn put a hand on one of the rocks to steady herself and wiped the spittle from her mouth. She remained doubled over and put a trembling hand to cover her lips as she closed her eyes, willing clouds to form and stop the sun from beating down on her so hard.

'Breathe Evelyn, concentrate on breathing.' She thought to herself, forcing back the dizziness with every deep breath. 'Don't think, just keep breathing.'

Evelyn heard the man swing off his horse and she spun around, one hand flying to cover her heart in fright. He was bent over her book bag and examining one of the texts, turning the pages with intrigue. He put it down and picked up another, and Evelyn felt a surge of anger and protectiveness. Those where her books, her things! How dare he touch them! She had paid for them with her hard earned money; had bought them from her school back home where things were orderly and civil, and there he was placing his bloody hands all over them! The fact that Evelyn couldn't make heads or tails of her situation, and was very frightened, made her feel unreasonably protective of the things she did know and understand. Fear, however, made her say nothing.

The man stood slowly and turned to face her, an open book in his hands. "How came you by these books woman?" He asked harshly. Evelyn felt her throat constrict and all the explanatory words were stopped. "Did you steal them?" He demanded, and Evelyn shook her head.

"They're mine," She squeaked, finally finding her voice however small it may have sounded. "I bought them." The man was silent for a long while, starring down at the book and then back up at her.

"Where do you come from?" He asked finally.

"Hamilton, in Toronto," She replied and after getting no response added hesitantly, "It's… it's in Canada."

"What is Canada?" He asked, and Evelyn felt her heart drop.

"It's a country. It's uh..it's in North America, you know?"

"North..America? I have not heard of this place." Evelyn looked away, her throat burning. Part of her hadn't really expected him to know, but a large part of her had still hoped that there would be some way to get home.

"I will take you too Masyaf." He stated, stooping to pick up her book bag and put her books away. "My master will know what to do with you."

"I'm not going with you," It was out before Evelyn could stop it.

"Do you know the land?" He asked without looking up and she scowled.

"…No."

"If you do not know the land, and your home is not close to here, then it is best you come with me." He slung her book bag over his shoulders and looked up. Evelyn clenched her jaw and said nothing, tensing her shoulders. He sighed impatiently, "Woman there is not a lot of time. Why will you not come?"

"You killed those people back there!" She yelled and then slapped her hand over her mouth, astonished by her own shouting. That she had certainly not meant to say.

"I saved your life." Evelyn looked away and out of the corner of her eye she saw him roll his shoulders and turn towards the horse. "But it seems that you wish to die, so I will leave you." Evelyn chewed her tongue and clenched and unclenched her hands, listening to him leave. She faced the direction that the castle had been in and looked from left to right. Only sand and rocked could be seen. Going back to the castle certainly wasn't an option, and Evelyn knew that if she left the path she'd only get lost. She turned around to face the direction that the man had gone and groaned. He was the last person she wanted to be with, he was a killer. She groaned again when she realized that he still had her books. Evelyn covered her face with her hands and said a short prayer, before she started to chase after him.

"Wait! Wait! Stop!" Evelyn huffed and puffed as she caught up to the horses flank. "I'll go with you to whatever it's called. Masyaf. You said somebody there could help me?" The man continued to stare ahead and didn't stop the horse. "I did."

"Well…can I go with you then?"

No answer.

"Can I?" Still no answer, and Evelyn, who was normally a very patient person, felt her patience beginning to wear thin. "Listen, I'm sorry about back there, I'm really grateful for you helping me out with those guys and giving me a ride and all but…you gotta understand…it's just…I'm lost! I don't know how the hell I got here, or where the hell here even is! Where I come from there are no freaking deserts, yeah okay there's prairies but that's in freaking Alberta! Nobody carries swords, and their aren't any castles either, and I don't understand this place or it's customs, and I don't know who you are, or if this guy that you mentioned can even help me but if there's any chance then I'd really really appreciate you taking me to him because I really just want to go home. So…so if you could do this for me…that'd be great and-and I think I have some money with me so I could pay you back or something." He jerked the reins and the horse stopped walking.

"You are a very strange woman, not only in attire." Evelyn could have sworn she saw him smirk as he reached down and helped pull her up behind him. She uncomfortably wrapped her arms around his middle as he nudged the horse forward at a faster pace.

"Thank you," She said quietly.

"You're welcome." He replied.


End file.
